In popular music, the lead vocalist or lead singer is the member of a band who sings the main solo vocal portions of a song, in front of the accompanying musicians who commonly play the rhythm and music and contribute harmony and backing vocals. In vocal group performances, notably in soul and gospel music, and early rock and roll, the lead vocalist takes the main solo vocal part, with a chorus provided by other group members as backing vocalists.

Especially in rock music, the lead vocalist or solo singer is the frontman (or frontwoman), who may also play one or more instruments and is often seen as the leader or spokesman of the group by the public. As an example in rock music, Robert Plant is the lead singer of Led Zeppelin. Similarly in soul music, Smokey Robinson was the lead singer of The Miracles.

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The practice of using a lead singer in vocal groups has been traced to the work songs and spirituals sung by African-American slaves in the form known as "call and response". Songs of the late nineteenth century frequently used a leading solo voice (or "call"), followed by a choral response by other singers. As the style developed through early commercial recordings and performances in the early twentieth century, the role of the lead vocalist became more established, although popular groups of the 1930s and 1940s such as the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers generally used different lead singers on different songs rather than keeping the same lead singer throughout. By the 1950s, singers such as Sam Cooke (with the Soul Stirrers) and Clyde McPhatter (with the Drifters) took on more clearly defined roles as lead singers, and by the end of the decade credited group names often changed to reflect the leading roles of the main vocalists, with examples such as Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers and Dion & the Belmonts.[1]

Academic David Horn has written:

The influence of US rhythm and blues recordings may well be a crucial one in the assimilation of the format of lead singer plus backing group into the guitar-based British 'beat' groups of the 1960s, and in US groups such as the Beach Boys. From these various points - including Motown - it went on to become a standard device in much rock and pop music. In some groups - most famously, the Beatles - the role of lead singer alternated (in this case, principally between two performers), while in others - for example, Herman's Hermits - one lead singer dominated.[1]

There are as many types and styles of lead singer as there are styles and genres of music. However, the lead singer of a group or band is usually the main focus of audiences' attention.[2] The lead vocalist of a band is sometimes called the "frontman" or "frontwoman", as the most visible performer in a group.

In modern rock music, the lead singer is often, but not always, also the band's leader and spokesperson. While lead vocalists or spokespersons for any musical ensembles can be called a frontman, the term is used very widely in rock music. Since the position commonly has an expanded role from simple lead vocalists, there have been cases in which the frontman for a band is someone other than the lead vocalist. For example, while the lead vocalist for the band Fall Out Boy is guitarist Patrick Stump, the bassist and lyrics writer, Pete Wentz, is generally called the frontman, both in the media and by the band members themselves, since he represents the band in most interviews and contributes most to the band's image in the popular media.[3] Another example is Angus Young of AC/DC, who is the band's lead guitarist, and co-leader with his brother Malcolm Young; while lead singer Brian Johnson (and before him Bon Scott) is the band's frontman, Angus Young can be thought to share the frontman position with Johnson, due to his on-stage antics and his role as the band's mascot, frequently featuring on album covers and promotional materials.